Just a matter of weeks ago, the date that Cape Town's taps were predicted to run dry was 12 April.

Mmusi Maimane, leader of South Africa's Democratic Alliance (DA), which runs both the city of Cape Town and Western Cape province, tweeted:

I can officially announce that #DayZero has been pushed back to 4 June 2018!Thanks to the efforts of Cape Town residents, consumption dropped to 526 million litres per day. Let's keep reducing consumption. We can #DefeatDayZero!

End of Twitter post by @MmusiMaimane

In another tweet, he revealed the average water use in Cape Town, a city of about four million people, was below 550 million litres. Two years ago, it was at more than a billion litres per day.

It has been no easy task for Cape Town's residents. The 50 litre limit is just enough for a very short shower and one flush of the toilet a day when other needs - including just one load of the washing machine a week - are taken into account.

However, the decision to declare a national disaster means the central government - which is run by the African National Congress (ANC) - will now take responsibility for relief efforts.